The Team

Tom Ferguson

FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER

Tom brings a decade of experience in water and startups to lead BIV. His start in water came as the lead author on the first CDP Water Disclosure Report in 2010, and he joined Imagine H2O in 2015 to build out the organization’s programming portfolio, which now encompasses 3 global programs vetting 500+ startups per year. Companies selected under Tom’s tenure have raised $600m+ and achieved 5 exits. He holds an MA from the University of Edinburgh, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

LinkedIn I X (Twitter)

Christine E. Boyle, PhD

PARTNER

Christine is a partner at Burnt Island Ventures where she works with innovators to bring the next generation of water technologies to market. She was the CEO and founder of Valor Water Analytics, which sold to Xylem in 2018. She served as Vice President of Digital Product Development at Xylem for 5 years following the acquisition. Christine is also Chair of the Cal-Nevada American Water Works Association and a trustee of the American Water Works Association Management and Leadership Division.

LinkedIn I X (Twitter)

Steve Kloos, PhD

PARTNER

Steve Kloos is an experienced investor and company leader with a deep background in water, energy, and climate. He was previously at GE Water as Membrane Technology Leader, Advanced Technology Leader, and member of GE's venture capital team. Steve led new investment sourcing as a Partner at True North Venture Partners, and served in two stints leading True North portfolio companies, and he is the founding board chair of Current Water and a longtime advisor to ImagineH2O.

LinkedIn I X (Twitter)

Jessica Pascolini

HEAD OF OPERATIONS

Jessica Pascolini brings over a decade of venture capital experience to the BIV team. Before joining BIV, she spent 2+ years at Strut Consulting partnering with today’s established and emerging fund managers to help them reach operational excellence and find the most impactful ways to engage their founders, LPs, and advisors. Prior to Strut, she spent 9+ years at Coatue in various roles. As Head of Events, she scaled Coatue’s events and experiences from scratch to 100+ highly curated annual events and grew Coatue’s marquee event, East Meets West, from 40 attendees to 350+ global attendees, most of which are C-Suite executives from companies of all stages, including public companies. Jessica holds an MBA from Pepperdine and a BS from UCLA.

Jennie Graham

INVESTMENT ASSOCIATE

Jennie has a background in social enterprise, spending several years supporting founders to build sustainable businesses in Afghanistan, Myanmar, and the Middle East, and as Entrepreneur Advisor at The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network in London. She took her first leap into venture in 2021, working initially at Towerview Ventures, part of the Alumni Ventures family of funds, and subsequently at the Ecosystem Integrity Fund, where she delved into investments across water, food and agriculture, waste, and the supply chain. Jennie holds a BA from the University of Oxford and MBA from Duke University, where she was a Fulbright Scholar.

LinkedIn I X (Twitter)

Marissa Sterling

PLATFORM ASSOCIATE

Marissa Sterling supports the team to find the best water entrepreneurs globally and, post-investment, super-powers those founders to build the best water companies in the world. Prior to joining BIV, Marissa founded Eco-Design Labs, a startup education program for water founders and stakeholders in Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and the US. She graduated with a dual BA in Sustainable Development from Columbia University and Jewish Ethics from The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, followed by an MPA from Columbia, a JD from Georgetown Law and a Master in Economic Law from Sciences Po - Paris.

LinkedIn I X (Twitter)

Wayne Byrne

VENTURE PARTNER

Wayne spent his early career working for multinational ICT businesses such as SAP and Computer Associates. But it wasn’t until he moved into the Cleantech Space that he discovered his true calling. He’s been a serial entrepreneur concentrating on waste to resource and water technology for the past eighteen years. Wayne has managed four successful business exits in the last fifteen years, including OxyMem to Dupont in 2019. Wayne currently serves as the Co-founder/Director of Method Capital, Chairman of STFC Innovations Limited (part of UKRI) and holds a number of advisory roles in the clean-tech/water space.

LinkedIn I X (Twitter)

Paul Hauffen

VENTURE PARTNER

Paul is an executive and entrepreneur, with a passion for growth-stage companies, emerging technologies, analytics, and industry 4.0 for water. Paul brings nearly 30-yrs starting companies, new offices, and business lines for both software tech & engineering firms, including Sedaru, Inc. which was acquired by Danaher Corporation in 2021. He has led M&A, supported seed and venture/strategic investment rounds, developed winning, disruptive business plans, and produced sustainable software and consulting businesses with lighthouse customers in attractive markets for stakeholders.

Kane Labrador

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Kane has background in biology, research and accounting. She previously served as a researcher at Course Hero and as an accounting officer at the Center for Community Transformation. Kane holds a BSEd in Biological Sciences from Mindanao State University - General Santos.